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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25216195">fire &amp; ice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wandering_wildflower/pseuds/wandering_wildflower'>wandering_wildflower</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>H2O: Just Add Water</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, But mostly just hurt, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Maybe a lil, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, i think i cried once while writing this, no happy endings!, the writing gets better towards the end just stick w it, this has been sitting in my drafts since feb &amp; its annoying me pls take it off my hands thanks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:55:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,550</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25216195</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wandering_wildflower/pseuds/wandering_wildflower</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rikki, unlike her power, was cold. Everything about her she kept guarded, where she lived, where her mom was. Most times it seemed there was more Emma didn't know about her than what she did. What she did know, though, was she <em>wanted</em> to know more.</p><p>soulmate au where your soulmate's last words to you are written on your wrist</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rikki Chadwick/Emma Gilbert</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>fire &amp; ice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>5</p><p>"Freak!"</p><p>Emma scowled as the little boy snickered and ran. her hands clenched in and out of fists, desperately biting back burning tears. Coward.</p><p>It was only her third day of kindergarten, and she'd already been teased mercilessly for her mark. Hers seemed the most abnormal, and she hated that. All she wanted was to fit in, be normal. And for the most part she had, until one girl saw her wrist and started screaming bloody murder. Her name was Charlotte, and she thought she was above the rest of the class just because her mark was 'terribly romantic'. In Emma's opinion, 'I'll always be with you' is rather cliche, but if you said that to her she'd probably throw a hissy fit.</p><p>Just as the first tear slipped down her cheek, a brown haired girl bounced up to her.</p><p>"hi, I saw you from over on the swings, and I just wanted to tell you, I think your mark is really cool." she smiled wide, showing off the holes where her two front teeth should be.</p><p>"Oh uh, thanks. Whats yours?"</p><p>" 'you explain love in a way science never could'. I don't really get it but that's the point, right? I'm Cleo by the way," she stuck her hand out, very professionally, and Emma took it, a small smile tugging at her lips.</p><p>"Do you want to come swing with me?"</p><p>Emma nodded and the girl, Cleo, let out a squeal, and skipped towards the swing-set. She followed closely behind, running her hand along her wrist. She smiled, thinking over the words that were burned into her mind, knowing brighter days were coming despite what she went through now.</p><p>
  <em>i cant believe no one ever found out we were mermaids</em>
</p><p>10</p><p>"Fish-Girl!"</p><p>Emma ducked her head, rapidly walking to her locker. Her shoulder hit several others, and her cheeks burned, but she didn't care. Looking up and fumbling around with the lock, she noticed a paper for the swim team taped to the front her locker. Abandoning her attempts at the lock, she ripped it off and crumpled it into a ball, biting down on the sides of her mouth so hard, she could taste blood.</p><p>This was not how it was supposed to be.</p><p>People were given soulmates for a reason. Soulmates were supposed to compliment each other, fit like puzzle pieces. They were not supposed to make one or the other a target of bullying, or make them look like a weirdo. At times, Emma thought that maybe she got a defect soulmate. Maybe they were opposites, like fire and ice. She was the ice being melted. Wishing she could just slip away with the tides, she slowly uncrumpled the paper still clenched in her fist, and read the date of the first meet.</p><p>August 7th.</p><p>If she was going to be called a fish for the rest of her life, better live up to the name.</p><p>She'd be there.</p><p>15</p><p>The entire day was unbelievable. It was like something straight out of a fairy tale, rather than real life.</p><p>But it was real life, and every time Emma reminded herself of this, now wrapped securely in her blanket, the moon hung high in the air, she felt those familiar butterflies rise in her stomach. She always knew that how she found her soulmate, and her soulmate in general, would be perfect, and would make all the teasing worth it. Today had proven her right. Once again.</p><p>It started off as a regular day, Emma had called up Cleo before school to ask if she wanted to help her practice for her big swim meet on Friday, but she had declined since she had unfinished homework due first period. Typical Cleo waiting until the last minute, Emma had thought to herself. So she went to the pool by herself. Thank the gods that she was the only one there, because she was definitely not expecting that she'd lose her legs. Her mother would always tell her stories of people jumping in the shallow end of a pool and shattering their legs. In retrospect, maybe the tail that replaced them was a little better.</p><p>"We look like..mermaids," Rikki stated, addressing the question hanging in the air they were too afraid to ask.</p><p>"That's ridiculous" Cleo began "mermaids aren't- wait. Emma," Cleo whipped her head towards her so fast she almost fell off the chair.</p><p>"Yes?" Emma's cheeks flushed as Rikki stifled a laugh.</p><p>"Your mark," she murmured to herself, barely audible, running a hand through her hair.</p><p>"Cleo you're scaring me," Emma began to stand, but the brunette grabbed her hands before she could, pulling the two up instead.</p><p>"Your mark!" she shouted this time, hopping up and down, "It's true!" -she was practically in hysterics- "We are some sort of mer-freaks!-" Cleo gasped, and stopped jumping, "this means," she looked into Emma's eyes, still clouded with confusion, "We're.. soulmates?"</p><p>Finally, it hit Emma. It was a thousand wind chimes blowing, the waves crashing on the beach, creating a deafening noise in her head. But it wasn't bad, or headache-inducing at all. No, it was the most beautiful feeling in the world. The noise blocked out all the petty jabs and remarks she'd received over the years for her mark.</p><p>This time she was the one who gasped. Cleo seemed to take this as confirmation of her suspicions. Looking into Cleo's soft brown eyes, she was reassured this was the right decision. Emma squealed and wrapped Cleo in a bone-crushing hug.</p><p>"About time," she laughed as they parted, while Cleo brushed a piece of hair out of her face, smiling.</p><p>"You two lovebirds wanna tell me whats going on, or do I have to figure it out for myself." Emma rolled her eyes at Rikki's condescending tone, but it didn't seem to have any effect on Cleo's good mood, as she answered happily, "Emma and I are soulmates. Em, show her your wrist."</p><p>Emma awkwardly rolled up her sleeve, and held her wrist out to the blonde, expecting her to snatch it from her carelessly, -the way she treated most things- as if it weren't attached to her body.</p><p>But she didn't. Instead, she held it gently, as though it would break at any moment. Emma shivered as the pad of her thumb traced over the ink that she had read so many times, leaving a warm trail from where her touch had been.</p><p>She disinterestedly dropped her wrist, discarding it like an old antique. Emma tried to ignore the lingering sensation on her wrist, attempting to discretely rub it off on her jeans.</p><p>"I have to go." Rikki shot up suddenly, muttering something about math homework and a curfew. Emma stared after her as she slammed the door, something in her heart twitching. Why couldn't she just be happy for her? She didn't understand why it irked her so much, but at that very moment, she had accidentally made either the worst or best decision of her life.</p><p>She let Rikki Chadwick get under her skin.</p><p>16</p><p>When Cleo decided to break things off, Emma knew it was for the best. Emma saw the way Cleo looked at Lewis, and felt in her gut that the two were meant to be, no matter how much she had tried to deny it to herself. When Cleo told Emma how she felt, she was relieved, and hugged her just as hard as the day they thought they'd discovered they were soulmates.</p><p>So, Emma lay in her bed, dejected and mind-numbingly alone. She hadn't felt this way since being teased in middle school, and the quiet left too much room for the memories of the past year in her failed relationship. She felt guilty for thinking that it had failed; it hadn't entirely. It brought her and Cleo closer together, and made her realize she wasn't straight. The spark she felt when kissing Cleo was definitely real, even if they weren't soulmates. She knew she was a fool for thinking a soulmate would magically fix everything about her, it was clear to her now. After laying in her bed and picking out shapes on her popcorn ceiling for an hour she finally broke, unable to bear the deafening silence any longer. </p><p>She pulled at her phone and scrolled through the contacts, lips pulling down in a frown at how few there were.</p><p>Her thumb hovered over Zane Bennett's name for a second, before continuing scrolling. Ever since Emma could remember, her and Zane had been inseparable. At least, up until 6th grade when Zane's ""popular"" group decided bullying Emma was the cool new trend, and Zane hopped on the train with no hesitation. It had hurt her deeply at the time, but she was too far past it to care. She figured it would be awkward now anyways.</p><p>The name Rikki Chadwick flashed on her screen, pulling her out of her thoughts, and promptly stopping her from making any hard decisions. </p><p>
  <em>heard about your breakup. if you need someone to talk to, im here</em>
</p><p>She paused for a moment, unsure of what to do. Rikki, unlike her power, was cold. Everything about her she kept guarded, where she lived, where her mom was. Most times it seemed there was more Emma didn't know about her than what she did. What she did know, though, was she wanted to know more.</p><p>
  <em>yeah. would you mind coming over?</em>
</p><p>her thumb hovered over the send button, a hurricane of anxiety twisting in her stomach. It was late, almost midnight, and if her parents found out someone had snuck over, especially Rikki she would never hear the end of it. But to hell with it, she couldn't be alone any longer, and besides, maybe she wanted to start breaking the rules anyways.</p><p>She slammed the send button, and held her breath.</p><p>Almost immediately she could see Rikki typing, as if she had been waiting on the messages for a response. Emma clutched her phone in her hands. After the typing bubble had been there a moment too long, she dropped it on her bed and flopped back on the sheets, letting out a groan.</p><p>It was weird to ask someone to come over at midnight, Rikki probably thought she was a lunatic. Her phone dinged, and she practically launched herself off the bed to read it.</p><p>
  <em>omw</em>
</p><p>-</p><p>Emma didn't remember when or how she became pressed close to Rikki's body, tangled in her light blue sheets. She pressed soft warm kisses along Emma's neck from above her, sending jolts of electricity down her spine. She ran her hand along Rikki's shoulder, leaving marks in the shape of crescent moons when she kissed her harder. </p><p>The night passed in flashes, soft skin, longing eyes, needy hands played out like a movie. </p><p>Emma panted, and delicately rested her head on Rikki's rising and falling chest. She felt a fire in her stomach, a warm contrast to her own cold powers. Rikki ran her hand through Emma's hair, and in that swift motion, she caught a glimpse of her mark. She bit her tongue knowing Rikki didn't like talking about it, but itching curiosity won over sense.</p><p>"What's your mark say?" Emma reached for her wrist, but Rikki moved it out of her grasp.</p><p>"It doesn't matter."</p><p>"Sure it does. Let me see." She pushed, because she had never been this close, close enough to peer over the walls Rikki had built.</p><p>"No."</p><p>The spark of hope that they could be anything suddenly died cold in Emma's chest. The secrecy was back. She had been wrong. Wrong about Rikki, wrong about herself, and wrong about what she felt. She didn't like Rikki that way, she didn't like <em>girls</em> that way. Her and Cleo had been a mess, with no idea what they were doing. And she refused to be hurt like that again. No, she wasn't even gay. </p><p>"Get out of my room," her voice wavered, a blank expression guarding her face.</p><p>"Wh-"</p><p>"I said get out!" she snapped, panic lacing her tone.</p><p> The girl bit her lip but moved towards the window without protest, pausing at the sill to whisper a soft <em>I love you</em> that Emma never heard.</p><p>~~~</p><p>The next day is when she met her new manager, Ash Dove.</p><p>he was decent looking, passable at best (not nearly as pretty as rikki, her brain lamented, which emma chose to ignore) but he'd work.</p><p>The following week Emma broke the news of her new relationship.  She told her two bestfriends (both were only friends) over a juice on the outside patio, the sun shining annoyingly bright in her eyes the whole time. </p><p>"I knew you had the hots for him! Do you think you two could be, y'know, soulmates?" Cleo whispered, nudging Emma with her elbow. Emma's stomach turned as Rikki pushed up from the table and stormed away, and she told herself her eyes were only watering from the sun, and the sun alone.</p><p> </p><p>17</p><p>it started off like any other day.</p><p>emma got up, clocked in at work, and started serving juices almost mindlessly.</p><p>and within 15 minutes she was fired.</p><p>her and Ash got into an explosive fight over where things in the freezer belonged (fights which had been happening more often than not) which quickly turned into the boy ranting about how Emma was so secretive, and how she spent so much time with her friends.</p><p>"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a dyke!"</p><p>This caused Emma to bite the inside of her cheek so hard, the metallic taste of blood clouded her senses. It took everything in her to not freeze Ash right there and then, and discard him in the freezer. <em>where does the milk go now, bitch</em>, she laughed humorlessly to herself. This action sent the ranting boy in front of her into an even bigger rage, and he took a threatening step towards her. </p><p>So Emma reached up and slapped him.</p><p>Everything was quiet for a minute, like the calm of a storm. Emma waited anxiously for Ash to say something, anything, but he didn't. Instead he laughed. A cold, heartless laugh. Emma slowly stumbled out of the cool room, then booked it for the door, untying her apron and letting it drop to the floor. She wasn't sad that her and Ash were broken up, she'd seen it coming for a while, she was more upset over her reaction. Her reaction to calling her what she knew she had been all along. Maybe this was a wake up call, to make things right. Even if Rikki wasn't her soulmate, they still deserved a chance, right? After all the only thing her defect soulmate had ever done was get her ridiculed, and made fun of. </p><p>Normally, under these circumstances, Emma would've called Cleo. Cleo was more understanding about these kinds of things, where Rikki lacked in compassion and empathy, Cleo covered for it. But when Cleo's phone went to voicemail, Emma figured Rikki was better than being alone. She picked up after one ring.</p><p>"Something wrong?" Rikki's familiar voice played through the speaker, and Emma felt relief run through her. </p><p>"Ye- no." she stuttered, sudden nerves washing over her, "Just called to see if you want to go for a swim with me?" She mentally facepalmed, feeling as stupid as she knew she sounded.</p><p>"Sure. I'll meet you at the beach in 5."</p><p>she hung up and that was that.</p><p>-</p><p>When Emma finally arrived at the beach, Rikki was already there waiting. She knew something was off because, if there is one thing in this universe you can rely on, it is Emma Gilbert always being on time. But here she was, puffy-eyed, 15 minutes late. The cold air wrapped around them as the sun slowly sank beyond the horizon, casting long shadows onto Rikki's worried face.</p><p>"Tell me who I need to kill."</p><p>"Pfft," Emma laughed, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, "that won't be necessary."</p><p>"Who's out here making my friend cry then?"</p><p>Emma stilled, then took a deep breath. Rikki was her friend, and this is the sort of thing friends talk about. Although she never really seemed interested in any of her boy drama in the past, right now is what counted.</p><p>"Ash broke up with me."</p><p>"Oh Dove the...Dick," Rikki nodded to herself.</p><p>"dove the dick? that's the best you've got?" Emma raised her brows.</p><p>"Not my fault nothing offensive rhymes with dove," she crossed her arms playfully.</p><p>"How about Dove: Devoid of love?"</p><p>"That's a little on the nose now, isn't it? But it does sound like a movie I'd watch."</p><p>Emma scoffed, and rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Race you to Mako?" she shifted her weight onto on leg then the other, realizing this was the first time the two girls had gone swimming together, alone, since the night Rikki came over. </p><p>"Last one there's a rotten egg," a competitive spirit gleamed in Rikki's eyes as she took off for the water, Emma on her tail.</p><p>"Hey, that's not fair!" Emma laughed, but the other girl was already submerged beneath the waves.</p><p>~~~</p><p>"honestly it's surprising this didn't happen sooner," she winced, propping herself up on her elbows only to fall again.</p><p>She couldn't stop the events from playing in her head over and over. The way the shark came out of nowhere, and thrashed Rikki's body around like a rag doll. And the blood, oh god, the blood. It was everywhere, so thick Emma felt she was choking on it. And the bleeding that wouldn't stop from where part of Rikki's tail had been grotesquely ripped off. </p><p>None of it was fair.</p><p>Rikki Chadwick did not deserve this. She could be irritable and blunt but if you stayed long enough to realize that was just a coping mechanism, you could see the girl underneath. The girl who bought Cleo a fish after her's died, the girl who went to all of Elliot's soccer games with Emma and cheered him on til her voice went hoarse, the girl who offered to help try and save Ms. Chatham's boat from being taken, and one of the only people who would take the time out of their day to comfort a hurting (and undeserving) Emma.</p><p>"Just hold on, maybe I can call some-" Panic flared in her chest as realized she'd left her phone at home. "Maybe I can swim and- and find a coast guard!" she began using her arms to push backwards along the shore, only to be stopped by Rikki's pale hand. Too pale.</p><p>"Em, we're in werewolf mode. There's no point."</p><p>Desperation clawed at Emma, as she tried to convince her. "But maybe there a chance-"</p><p>"Please just.. stay here with me?" the blonde girl cut her off, shifting her torso uncomfortably on the sand.</p><p>Before, the ocean had always felt like home. The water felt like a warm embrace, and gave Emma the freedom she longed for. It was a place to hide away from everyone when all she wanted was to be left alone. But now- the sand felt too itchy against her skin, the dark water lapping at her tail a beast trying to drag her back in to it's freezing depths.</p><p>"Okay," Emma whispered, defeated. She scooted closer to the girl, ignoring the sticky red surrounding them, and instead gingerly taking one of Rikki's hands in her own. She squeezed it tight as she fought back tears. The light on the full moon shone down on them, casting long shadows on Rikki's face. The sight sucked her into a faint memory of the night she'd called Rikki over when Cleo broke up with her. How stupid she had been to push her away when she needed her most. The pain was evident through the way she gritted her teeth, and her glassy eyes with a waxing gibbous reflected in the pained irises. </p><p>She was so beautiful, even now, close to death.</p><p>"Please don't leave me. I need you." she begged distraughtly, "Say something." </p><p>"I can't believe no one ever found out we were mermaids." Rikki coughed out, attempting a weak smile.</p><p>Emma's jaw went slack, and she felt her throat close up. it was her all along. Rikki was her soulmate, and she was going to die.</p><p>"kinda gave us away, didn't you?" she choked out after a second, wiping her nose with the back of her free hand. "Emma Chadwick wouldnt've been too bad a name, huh?" Emma choked out, and Rikki gripped her hand tighter. Emma squeezed her eyes shut, unable to stop the oncoming tears. It finally occurred to her, maybe opposites do attract. She'd wasted all this time in denial. Denying she was a mermaid, denying she liked girls, denying that her and Rikki could ever possibly work. But this entire time, those 3 things were true. She blew any remaining chance at happiness, and maybe if she hadn't been so, so <em>blind</em>, they wouldn't be in this position right now.</p><p>The blonde offered a weak smile, eyelids fluttering shut, and gently flipped her wrist over so Emma could see the fading sentence etched in black.</p><p>
  <em>'emma chadwick wouldnt've been too bad a name, huh?'</em>
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